28 Aug 2014

A few of you (okay, just Diva Booknerd and Cait of Notebook Sisters) requested that the two of us do more posts together. Unfortunately, Chami is still holed in up 'preparing-for-exam land' (it's not a nice place) so I had to get a little bit creative for this post...So, I introduce to you *drum roll* CHELY, THEY SAY THE DARNDEST THINGS! *crowd cheers*

Basically, we're going to show off some of our brilliance (insane-ness) via screenshots of things we've said to each other on Skype/Facebook/Text. Sound amazing? YOU BET IT DOES.

This shouldn't surprise any of you, but the vast majority of our conversations revolve around books. This particular one is from a few weeks back when I was reading The Maze Runner... (Did anyone else do this too?)

'Hoe' is our thing (it's a term of endearment, we promise!), so sometimes things like this happen. Can you guess the real quotes?

Best friends is all about making the other person feel good about themselves, right?

And sometimes...it's about threatening the other person (with love, of course).

Usually, there's a lot of sarcasm...

And sometimes (most of the time), we get a little nerdy and weird. #besthoes

And yes, there's a lot of embarrassing photos of both of us that we've saved for future use against each other. (Mainly for birthdays)

Karigan G'ladheon,
running away from school, is traveling through a deep forest when a
galloping horse pounds up to her, its rider impaled by two black-shafted
arrows. With his dying breath, he tells her he is a Green Rider, one of
the magical messengers of the King. Before he dies, he makes Karigan
swear to deliver the message he's carrying, and gives her his green
coat, with the symbolic brooch of his office. Pursued by unknown
assassins, following a path only her horse seems to know, Karigan
becomes a legendary Green Rider for when given to the right person, a
Rider's brooch awakens the magic inside.

Green Rider is one of those books that I usually would have
marked as to-read on Goodreads and then never actually read it. Luckily for me,
my lovely friend Sarah bought this book for herself during one of our many
bookshop adventures together and then passed it along to me, after she read it
and lost her mind over it. I’m so happy that Sarah decided to pick it up and
extra happy that she let me borrow it.

I should probably mention that this is the first book I took
serious notes for (at least one that wasn’t school related) so this is probably
going to be a really, really, insanely long review. On that note, let’s start.

My absolute favourite thing about this book are the
characters- they’re seriously amazing. I wrote something about pretty much
every single character, but I’m only going to mention a few today. Let’s start
with our main character- Karigan G’ladheon. Firstly, can we talk about how
ridiculously badass her name is? It sounds very Welsh to me which is, of
course, seriously awesome. Anyway, Karigan is a great main character- she’s
only a teenager but she has this massive weight placed on her shoulders due to
this mission. She makes mistakes, but she’s so kickass and incredibly stubborn.
She was a lot of fun to read about it and I think she’s taken a special place
in my heart.

Now onto some smaller characters- I’m doing this sort of by
order of appearance, but not really. Firstly, the Berry sisters- they have a
very small part but they are seriously amazing. Secondly, Torne and Jendara – So
I actually hate Torne but I really like the fact that they’re a duo and that
Jendara is a female (and much more awesome and fierce than Torne). Karigan’s
father, Stevic, is also amazing- he’s great father but also a really
interesting character. Lorilie – another seriously gorgeous name and an
interesting character. Captain Mapstone and Mel are, again, amazing characters
and both brilliant in their own right. Alton is just awesome and I really hope
there’s more of him in the future (perhaps I’m getting a new literary crush
here). King Zachary is…well, I like him but I also don’t know how I feel about
him. I can’t really explain why without spoiling anything, but yeah there is
definitely some confusion there for me. Next Mirwell…I don’t know how to put
this other than he’s a creeeeeeeeeep. Finally, The Horse. The Horse is just
amazing, and brilliant, and wonderful and every other good adjective you could
use. Basically, every single character is interesting and I can’t wait to see
who pops up in the rest of the books.

Now onto some things that aren’t related to characters. The
writing in this book is beautiful- it really, really is. There’s something
really unique about it, and I don’t know quite how to describe it other to say
that it sounds really old but in a way that really suits the story. It’s also
full of imagery- it’s like the words actually come out of the book and you get
so immersed in the world around you. I found that I was getting completely lost
in the story every time I picked up the book- hours could pass and I wouldn’t
even realise. The world itself, Sacoridia, is brilliant. There are so many
awesome things in the world- like the Green Riders and Intrigue which is sort
of like a boardgame, chess-like thing, which I’d probably be terrible at. There
are so many layers to the story and it’s a really, really intense ride (see
what I did there?). It’s a really marvellous beginning to what I’m sure will
turn out to be mind-blowing series.

I can’t wait to get
my hands on the rest of the books- honestly, I’d travel the North Road to get
them. (More references, see you should read the book so you get them…) Thank
you again to the spectacular, epic, wonderful etc. Sarah!

13 Aug 2014

This was actually supposed to go up last month for our blogoversary, but we just forgot (as usual). Usually this tag is done in video form, but since we only ever see each other like twice a year, this'll have to do for now! LET'S GO.

1. How and when did you meet?

E - Birth, aka. the internet, 3 years ago

C - We weren't close at first but when we realised that we
were fraternal twins, things came together.

E - The awkward moment when Chami gives a better answer than
Ely.

C - #LIFE2. What's your favourite memory together?

E - My 18th. The entire night was amazing, but I think your
speech was the best part. I don't think I've ever simultaneously laughed and
cried harder than I did then.

C- I don't know if you guys know but Ely and I don't see
each other often at all. We could be living in different countries for all you
care. So I think our favourite physical memory together would have to be that
one time I punched her in the face when we were in the womb.

C- AW HOE.

3. Describe each other in one word.

C- Cacti

E- Babe4. What's your dream job?

C- In all seriousness, I think Ely would be a great
Publishing Agent as well as an author. Perhaps even a professional Fangirl
Psychologist.

E- Chami either wants to be a director, or a professional Warner
fangirl.

C- OH ELY. U KNOW ME LIKE THE BACK OF MY ELBOW

5. What's your favourite makeup brand?

E - I literally have no clue. But, you really like red
lipstick and sometimes you put make-up on for the sole purpose of taking
selfies.

C - I have no clue with you either? Lipstick as well? Wait,
maybe eye things. She likes eyes.

E - #IGNITEMECOVER

C - #OMG #DATJUSTHAPPENED6. What is something that annoys you about the other person?

C- Pretty much EVERYTHING. Haaa, I'm just kidding. Mostly
her freedom. SHE BE FREE LIKE A BIRD BUYING ALL THESE BOOKS AND I CRY,
EVERYTIME.

E- Your inability to spell or use proper grammar :P7. If you could go anywhere in the world together, where would it be and why?

C - We've planned to live in London with a house made of
books. So I guess the England.

E - The world's largest cheap bookstore that'd be filled
with beautiful hardback, signed copies of all our favourite books. Preferably,
in London.8. Favourite inside joke?

C - No one will actually know how many inside jokes we have.
We have like a billion. Like, I can't even. Cactus was good, Silva also, and so
was 9 minutes in every direction. There was always that time we had a fake
child named Tom Riddle Sex God.

E - Literally everything we ever say to each other gets
turned into an inside joke of some kind. Examples, HEY GIRL HEYY, Turn left at
the next Cactus, Nine minutes in every direction.

C – NANDOS. NANDOOOO.9. Who takes longer to get ready in the morning?

C- Our child. Our child takes longer to get ready in the
morning.

E- We've never ever been at the same place in the morning or
ever had to get ready to go out somewhere together.

C - or Ely's answer. That is also good.10. Favourite season?

C- I just seriously sat there and wondered what Tv Show this
question was aimed at. But now that i get it: AUTUMN. Is it? Because we are
twins SO IT HAS TO BE.

E - Knock, Knock or one of the many raps you've made up over
the years.12. Heels or flats?

E - Heels for you cause you're a midget.

C- Flats for Ely13. Pants or dresses?

E - WHY?

C- WHAT IS THIS QUESTION? I CAN'T ANSWER THIS

E - I CAN'T EVEN ANSWER THIS FOR MYSELF

C – Sometimes when I’m bored I take imaginary people for a
tour of my bookshelves.

*Ely dies.*

C- Do you do it too?

E – Yes.14. Favorite animal?

E - A Cactus? I don't know. I don't think you like cats, but
we talked about having 37 of them and one dog in a house full of books in
London...

C- Her Dog, Mara. She be loving her dog. That's the only
other bitch she can love that's not me.

E – This is probably a good time to mention to anyone
reading this that my dog is actually named Tara.15. If your house was burning down, and your entire family was sure to be okay,
what would you save and why?

11 Aug 2014

Hello and welcome back! This is part two of my author
discussions. In my first post, I talked about my most read authors and today
I’m talking about my most owned authors. In part three, I’ll be talking about
my auto-buy/favourite authors.

As well as noting how much books I owned from each author,
I’ll also mention how many of those books I’ve read. So let’s go!

Firstly, let's start with authors that I own three books of.

Nansi Kunze - Mishaps, Dangerously Placed and Kill the Music. I've read all of these and unfortunately, these are the only books Nansi has out at the moment. I NEED MORE.

Marie Lu – Legend, Prodigy and Champion. I've read both Legend and Prodigy and I'm currently halfway through Champion.

Cynthia Hand – Unearthly, Hallowed and Boundless. I've only read Unearthly so far, mainly because I LOVED it and I'm scared for the series to end.

Marissa Meyer – Cinder, Scarlet and Cress. I've only read Cinder so far (I KNOW!), but I'm working on it.

Aldous Huxley – Brave New World, Crome Yellow and Antic Hay. I've only read Brave New World, but considering it's one of my favourite books I think that makes up for it...right?

Libba Bray - A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels, A Sweet Far Thing. I've read the first two books and I'm about halfway through A Sweet Far Thing- it's 800 pages though, so it's a slow read.

Now to authors with four books...

Emile Zola - Germinal, The Dream, L'oeuvre and...Germinal. I seriously adore Zola, and while I haven't technically finished any of these...well, I WILL! Also, the reason I own two Germinal's is because one is in French and the other is English.

Becca Fitzpatrick - Hush, Hush, Crescendo, Silence and Finale. I've read all of these, and really enjoyed them.Maureen Johnson - The Last Little Blue Envelope, The Name of the Star, The Madness Underneath and The Keys to the Golden Firebird. Wow, Maureen Johnson has really long titles...Anyway, I've only read The Name of the Star out of these.F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Beautiful and the Damned and Tender is the Night. I've only read Gatsby out of these, though I have read it twice!

Now onto five books!Maggie Stiefvater - Shiver, Linger, Forever, The Scorpio Races and The Raven Boys. I've read all of these, except Forever (which I'll probably never read).John Green - The Fault in Our Stars, Looking for Alaska, Paper Towns, An Abundance of Katherines and...The Fault in Our Stars, again. I've only read TFiOS and Looking for Alaska, plus half of Paper Towns.Charles Dickens - Dickens at Christmas, Great Expectations, David Copperfield, Oliver Twist and The Pickwick Papers. Dickens is one of my favourite authors, though I've only read Great Expectations and the first 150 pages of Pickwick so far.Jessica Shirvington - Embrace, Entice, Empower, Disruption and Between the Lives. I've read Embrace, Entice and Empower but I haven't quite got to the other two yet.

Now authors with six books.Cassandra Clare - City of Fallen Angels, City of Lost Souls, Clockwork Angel, Clockwork Prince, Clockwork Princess and The Shadowhunter's Codex. I am slowly getting rid of these, at least The Mortal Instuments series (I'm keeping the Infernal Devices). I've read all of them but the Codex.Cecelia Ahern - P.S. I Love You, The Gift, The Time of My Life, One Hundred Names, How to Fall in Love and The Book of Tomorrow. I haven't actually read any of these...I blame the library.

Now with seven books.Eva Pohler - The Gatekeeper's Sons, The Gatekeeper's Challenge, The Gatekeeper's Daughter, The Gatekeeper's House, The Gatekeeper's Secret, The Purgatorium and Gray's Domain. I've read all of these, but two.Rick Riordan - The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, The Titan's Curse, The Battle of the Labyrinth, The Last Olympian and The Lost Hero. I've only read the first three Percy Jackson books so far, but I'm working on it!

Now with ten, eleven, twelve and thirteen...Richelle Mead - Vampire Aacdemy, Frostbite, Shadow Kiss, Blood Promise, Spirit Bound, Last Sacrifice, Bloodlines, The Golden Lily, The Indigo Spell and Gameboard of the Gods. I've read the entire VA series, plus the first two books in the Bloodlines series.Virginia Woolf - A Room of One's Own x 2, To The Lighthouse, Between the Acts, Three Guineas, Mrs Dalloway, Jacob's Room, The Waves, The Years and Orlando. I haven't ready of these... *dies of shame*Daphne Du Maurier - Rebecca, Jamaica Inn, Frenchman's Creek, Don't Look Now and Other Stories, The Flight of the Falcon, Mary Anne, The Parasites, Julius, I'll Never Be Young Again, Castle Dor and The Rendezvous and Other Stories. I've only read Rebecca and Jamaica Inn, but they are two of my all-time favourites.J.K Rowling - The entire Harry Potter series, Quidditch Through the Ages, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Tales of Beedle the Bard, The Casual Vacancy and The Cuckoo's Calling. I've read all of these, except for the last two.Lemony Snicket - All thirteen books from A Series of Unfortunate Events (except book six) and The Unoffical Autobiography. I've read all of these, including book six and I love them.

Finally, my number one most owned author is....

*drum roll*

AGATHA CHRISTIE, with a total of 24 books. (This is crazy!) I think I've only read about 4 of the books I own because I always end up borrowing her books from the library.

That's it for this part! I hope to see you all next time with the third and final part of this little discussion series. See you all then!